


5 Times They Wished Aramis Was There...

by ccaaii



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Comfort, Friendship, Gen, I rewatched episode one of this series and was thinking about them at war, absent friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 16:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8378941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ccaaii/pseuds/ccaaii
Summary: ...and One Time They Were Glad he Wasn'tSet during the gap between seasons.Snapshots into adjusting to Aramis not being around while they are at war.





	

**1**

“Doesn't understand a word of French,” Porthos growls irritated.

“you believe that?” Athos asks raising an eyebrow.

Porthos sighs. “If he does he's good, he hasn't slipped.”

“Fine,” Athos said shortly, “d'Artagnan go and fetch...” He paused the normal next part of that wouldn’t work. “Someone who speaks Spanish,” he goes with.

D'Artagnan spread his arms wide. “Who's going to admit to that we're at war with Spain?”

“Just,” he presses his fingers to his temple, “find someone with a few words.”

D'Artagnan goes and the other two exchange looks.

“That prisoner is our best shot at any information about the enemy lines,” Porthos says flatly

“I know,” Athos replies quietly, “we could do with-”

“Don't.” Porthos cuts him off and shuts his eyes. “He's not here, no point thinking about it,” he adds gruffly.

Athos regards him for a moment then nods. “Be useful if he were,” is all he says.

 

**2**

Athos looks up in surprise the first time no one argues with him then sighs.

It’s not always Aramis - he’s just realised recently it’s often Aramis, or he’d realised recently quite how often it was Aramis.

The next week he bites his tongue just in time to not yell Aramis’ name when someone does something brave but rash and puts themselves in danger to save someone else.

 

**3**

“I wish Aramis were here,” says d'Artagnan looking a bit green, “I don’t know where to start.”

Porthos grunts from where he lay on the table. “Well...he ain’t, and he'd criticise your stitchwork however good it is, so just get on with it.”

“Sorry,” d'Artagnan mutters, still trying to thread the needle.

“Heh...” Porthos breathes out through the pain, “he wouldn't have hit me in the first place, who are they sending us these days? I was ten feet away from the man he was aiming for.”

Really the trap had gone surprisingly well considering their shooter had hit him instead of the target – but he really needed to stop planning things that relied on a good shot when they no longer had such a reliable source of one.

 

**4**

D'Artagnan cannot remember the last time he saw Porthos smile he thinks he can think of a time Athos has. There's some joviality at the end of battles but not dying laughter is different, it doesn't quite count.

Porthos particularly he thinks the war is getting to, he and Athos break through occasionally although it’s rare and brief. He knows Aramis would have more luck there, maybe with Athos too – though he'd never have described Athos as a smiley person even before all this.

He can remember what Aramis' smile looked like, just about, he'd started actively remembering when he'd realised the memory was starting to get fuzzy. It made him realise how little Aramis had smiled within those last few months.

 

**5**

He's five miles from the front when he realises he's been on the road to Douai for the last three and pulls up short.

He has no idea what he's doing, he thinks, what's his plan here? Go to the monastery and persuade Aramis to desert with him – for all he knew Aramis has found his true vocation, he might not want to go with him.

Other thought's caught up with him then, the ones he'd been pushing to the back of his mind on this ride. his men back at the front...his duty to them and to the war effort, his country.

He turns around.

He comes into camp a little before dawn. “You're up early” is all the comment he gets, and that's from Athos. No one else notices anything out of the ordinary at all. No one notices he'd been gone for hours. He nearly says something to Athos and, later at breakfast, to d'Artagnan but he doesn't he's hyper aware that Aramis wouldn't need to be told he'd have noticed...however, perhaps that's for the best. No one knows and it can stay like that - but it would have been nice to have someone to talk to.

 

**+1**

They’ve made camp as the lines shift around them; a small encampment of Musketeers in the forest surrounded on most sides by enemies, wrapped in blankets because they can’t risk a fire. Porthos thinks he’d be reminded of Savoy even if it wasn’t snowing. It is, and it’s just another reminder that these are the circumstances under which musketeers perish.

And he knows, if he’s thinking about it, that if Aramis were here he’d either be sitting against a tree staring blankly into space having flashbacks or curled up with his head on his knees so he didn’t have to see the forest and the snow. The plan was to move just before dawn, hope to sneak past the enemy while having a little light. There would be no way to get out of the situation before then and that’s hours away.

Athos comes and settles next to him, sitting close together for warmth.

“If Aramis were here,” Porthos murmurs quietly. Athos looks at him in surprise because Porthos never says that and he tells them to shut up if they do, then Porthos sees his eyes flick to the same tree Porthos had picked out that Aramis would set up by to try and get through the night.

“He wouldn’t be doing well,” Athos agrees carefully.

“We wouldn’t be able to get him out,” Porthos says in a small voice.

“He’s already out,” d’Artagnan points out gently, “He’s...safe.”

Porthos looks up at him then nods. “Good,” is all he says in response. 

Aramis was a great soldier and he’d do this if he had to but it would not be pleasant and they were all glad he wasn’t present on this particular night.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://fearlessstateofmind.tumblr.com) if needed/you fancy a chat


End file.
